Chapter 7

Once we'd paid for lunch, we went into the mall. Samantha seemed to be having trouble deciding between staying close to us or  staying a safe distance in case she felt the need to run.

We took her into Old Navy to see if there were some jeans and clothes she'd like.  We started with jeans.

"Pick whatever style you like. Do you know your size?" I asked her. She nodded.

"It's too expensive," she said.

"Don't worry about the prices, okay?  Pretend they don't exist," I said.

She picked a couple of pairs of jeans and then we looked at t-shirts.

"Um..." she said timidly. "I prefer the shirts from the boys' side."

"That's fine. Let's go look over there," I said.

She picked out a couple of shirts and sweatshirts.

"Next we need the more, um, delicate items. Let me send Tyler out to get us drinks. Is a Diet Coke okay?"

Samantha nodded and smiled.

"Ty, we're thirsty. Could you go down to the food court and get us drinks?  A Diet Coke for Samantha and an iced tea for me?"

"We just ate lunch. How are you thirsty?"

"Because we are girls and we require hydration," I said, giving him a look that said 'don't question me, just leave'.

"Ah. Okay. Back in a few," he said. I sighed.

"Alright, Miss Samantha. Let's go to the underwear. What kind do you prefer?"

"Shorts. Like the boyfriend style?" She said.

"Me too. Comfortable, aren't they?" I asked. She nodded.

"Make sure you get the right size. You can't try those on," I laughed.  Samantha smiled.

She picked out a package of three pairs. I grabbed two more.

"Alright. Let's go try on the jeans and shirts, huh?"

"Uh, okay," she said.

I led her to the change rooms and the attendant let us into a change room.

"I'll be right outside the door, okay?" I asked. Samantha nodded.

I heard her put the clothes on the hooks and waited. And waited.

"Samantha?  You okay in there?" I asked. I heard a sniffle.

"Yeah," she said in a shaky voice.

"Are you sure?  Can I come in?"

She opened the door a crack. Her eyes were red.

"Sweetie, what's the matter?" I asked.

"N-nothing," she said.

"Oh. Okay. So, you're just crying for the fun of it?"

"N-no," she said.

"Samantha, you are safe with us. You can tell us anything."

"I didn't want you to see," she said.

"See what?" I asked. She stepped back from the dressing room door and turned around. Her back was a patchwork of recent and healing bruises. Her legs had bruises and scars and cuts that looked like they were healing, but still pretty recent.

"Samantha..." I breathed. Did your dad do this to you?"

I closed the door behind me so no one else would see.

Samantha nodded, crying. I went over to her and wrapped her in my arms.

"Oh, sweetie. I'm so sorry. You're safe now. I promise. We're going to try to help make it better for you. You can talk to us about anything, okay?"

Samantha clung to me crying.

She took a few minutes to calm down.

"Do you want some help putting the shirts on?" I asked. It looked like moving her arms too much might aggravate the bruises on her back. She nodded.

I picked up the first shirt and helped her put it on.

"It's cute!  We should get you a couple more. What's your favourite color?" I asked.

"Blue," she said, looking at the blue shirt she was wearing.

"Okay. We'll get a couple in blue and maybe grey, black, red?  Do you like yellow?"

"You don't have to spend so much. It's expensive," she said.

"Honey, it is our pleasure. I promise. Now, let's try the jeans, hey?"

I helped her get into the jeans since bending down was painful for her, too.

"They look great. Let's get a couple more pairs," I said.

"Could I get some cargo pants?" She asked, quietly.

"Sure!  Let's go look at those, and Tyler should be back with our drinks.

We went back out into the store once Samantha had changed back into her own clothes.  I pulled a couple more hoodies out for her. Nice, warm fleece ones. And a jacket that I thought might look cute. I showed her the jacket and she just stared at it.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"I like it, but it's way too expensive," she said. "My dad would kill me if I bought that."

"Well, you're not  buying it, I am," I said.

"It's too much," she said.

"Samantha, you need a warm fall jacket. And you'll need a winter coat if you're still with us in the winter. We are going to make sure you are well taken care of."

She acquiesced and we went to find her some cargo pants. I got her a pair in khaki and olive as well as a couple more pairs of jeans. I also grabbed a few packets of socks for her. Tyler came into the store with a tray of drinks.

"Buying out Old Navy?" He smiled.

Samantha looked between him and me.

"See, it's too much. He's going to get mad," she pleaded with her eyes at me.

"What? No. I'm not going to get mad. I was kidding." Tyler said, clearly confused. I shook my head at him to let him know I'd fill him in later.

"It's fine, honey. Again, it's our pleasure," I reiterated.

I made Tyler pay for the clothes while I took Samantha outside of the store. I didn't want her to see the total.

"So, we have a great bedroom for you, but since it's a guest room, it's not decorated for a 13 year old girl. I thought we could get you some bedding that might be more your style." I said as we sat on the bench outside the store sipping our drinks.

"I'm sure what's there is fine," Samantha said.

"Honestly, it's pretty ugly. It's like, all purple and green and gold. And the sheets are just a boring white."

"That sounds fine," Samantha said. "It's a bed."

"Sweetie, this is going to be your room. We want you to make it your room,"

"I won't even be with you that long. My dad will talk his way out of things like he always does, and I'll probably be back home with him by the weekend," Samantha said, a tear in her eye.

"I don't think so," I said. "Not this time. The police seem pretty confident he's going to go to jail."

"They said the same thing last time.  And when he got out in two days, he beat me so bad, I couldn't go to school for a week," she said, starting to cry.

"Sweetie, we're not going to let that happen. I promise. The police have more information his time, and they have our statements. They said that even if he makes bail, they aren't letting you go back,"

Samantha sniffed.

"You don't know my dad," she said quietly.

Tyler came out of the store just then.

"Everything okay?" He asked looking at Samantha's red eyes.

"It will be," I smiled. "Let's go get you some appropriate bedding. And hey, there's a Hot Topic here. I bet they have your favourite band merch," I said.

Samantha smiled, just a bit.